


Dreams Unguessed

by TongueTiedRaven



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Girls in Love, Hurt/Comfort, Married Life, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28671159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TongueTiedRaven/pseuds/TongueTiedRaven
Summary: Izumo woke up with a gasp that was closer to a scream. She struggled against the old quilt that was wrapped around her body. It was constricting her, holding her in place just like the medical tables had. All she could see was the white of the ceiling and she’s there. There was a dull roar in her ears from the panic and she couldn't breathe. They were going to come for her. All the faceless monsters that always invade her nightmares until she couldn’t tell what was a dream and what was a memory.Shiemi shifted, murmuring softly in her sleep. That quiet sound, hardly more than a breath, gave Izumo an anchor.She was in her home. No. She was intheirhome. She was safe.
Relationships: Kamiki Izumo/Moriyama Shiemi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 14





	Dreams Unguessed

Izumo woke up with a gasp that was closer to a scream. She struggled against the old quilt that was wrapped around her body. It was constricting her, holding her in place just like the medical tables had. All she could see was the white of the ceiling and she’s there. There was a dull roar in her ears from the panic and she couldn't breathe. They were going to come for her. All the faceless monsters that always invade her nightmares until she couldn’t tell what was a dream and what was a memory. 

Izumo gasped wildly but there was too much air already in her lungs. The blanket was constricting her more with every passing second and the shadows overhead looked like the dark swirls of the demons. She fought the blankets hold and only succeeded in jostling the body next to her. 

Shiemi shifted, murmuring softly in her sleep. That quiet sound, hardly more than a breath, gave Izumo an anchor. 

She was in her home. No. She was in  _ their  _ home. Their lovely little apartment. This was their bedroom. She could see Shiemi’s ridiculous money tree stretching up the far wall and dozens of vines decorating the books shelves. There were lilies by the window, and the lucky bamboo Izumo had gifted her for their first anniversary. It was more of a garden than a bedroom. 

She was free. She had been for almost a dozen years. The Illuminati didn’t have a hold on her. They were disbanded. Her mother was at rest and Tsukumo...

The tears sprang to her eyes as they always did. The nightmares attacked her in a way she could never fight and she  _ hated  _ them. She hated the weakness and how quickly they made her a child again. 

Shiemi was still asleep, thank god. Izumo must not have been too loud. Her blonde hair was spread against the pillow and draped over her cheeks in soft strands that Izumo wanted to reach out and touch. 

She wouldn’t. Shiemi deserved to stay asleep. The nightmares weren’t meant for her. 

Izumo sat there for a moment just studying the familiar lines of her wife’s face. She knew every freckle by heart but that didn’t matter.  Normally just watching her gentle breaths and sleepy movements was enough to calm Izumo. She’d lay down and ground herself with things around the room until her heart rate had returned to normal.

It wasn’t going to be enough tonight. The adrenaline was flooding her system and the shadows were too long. She needed something different.  Gently, carefully, she pushed the covers off herself and slipped out of the bed. Shiemi remained asleep, her breathy snores the only sound in the room 

A few cautious steps saw her out of the room and in the rest of the apartment. Hanako was sleeping in the window seal and lifted her head as Izumo came out. Choco remained asleep and didn’t acknowledge her presence. 

She’d normally cuddle with one of the cats to calm down but… she felt too antsy. 

She took up her fans instead. A few simple movements to start, just enough to loosen her limbs. She could do the steps with her eyes closed and they didn’t require active thought. The routine had long since become muscle memory for her. Down, over, step to the right, left arm up, left foot back. She swung her right arm and used the momentum to spin her entire body.

Over, step, sweep, spin. They were instinct at this point and they helped her to focus, to think past the shadows and the memories of dark things. 

“You always look so graceful.” Shiemi murmured softly. Izumo jolted, her arms dropping to her sides and her fans thumping against her legs. Her wife was leaning against the doorway to their bedroom. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her head tilted against the wood of the frame. Her soft locks were still in disarray from the bed and everything about her seemed soft and sleepy. Shiemi was always softness and light. She didn’t belong with those memories and that darkness even though she’d been there through most of it and through  _ so  _ much more. 

Izumo’s hands tightened around her fans. “Did I wake you?”

Shiemi shook her head. “You were quiet as always.” She pushed away from the wall and strolled towards Izumo. “Bad dreams?”

Izumo nodded. There wasn’t much point in lying now. Not when she’d been dancing. 

Hanako meowed from his perch and Choco jumped down to greet Shiemi. The cat tried to impede Shiemi’s movements but they were both skilled at avoiding that by now. Shiemi reached her without tripping or slowing. Her hands wrapped around Izumo’s wrist, thumbs brushing over her pulse. They stood still for a beat, staring at each other's eyes and this, this delicate moment in the dead of night, this was what Izumo lived now. It wasn’t the fear of losing everything or being abandoned. Her life was dazzling green eyes and soft fingers gently taking away the fans. Her life was growing things and not the echo of silence where a family had once been.

“It’s late,” Shiemi coaxed, her hands returning to hold Izumo’s. It was easy for Izumo to make space for Shiemi’s fingers between her own. She held on tight. She would always hold on tight now.

“So?”

Shiemi didn’t rise to the bait. She never really had. “Come back to bed?”

Izumo hesitated for a moment. The shadows would still be there and the stark whiteness of the ceiling would choke her.

“Please?” Shiemi added. Izumo blew out a noisy breath and nodded.

Their bed was still warm so it hadn’t been that long. Shiemi climbed in first, still holding Izumo’s hand, and pulled her in after. She arranged Izumo on her side and curled up behind her, wrapping her up in a warm embrace and giving her something solid to lean against.

She had never pictured herself like this when she was a naive girl. It was her job to protect and comfort was a luxury she couldn’t afford to indulge in. There was no one to indulge in it with. There was no one she could trust to protect her. There was Paku, but Izumo had always tried to protect her.  


Shiemi had wasted little time in bashing that illusion to death. Their first week together had consisted of endless hugs and long cuddles that left Izumo breathless. It had felt like she was being treasured. Little Izumo who was only worth something because she could be a vessel was precious in Shiemi’s eyes. She didn't value her for what she could do but for who she was.  


This time felt no different. She relaxed back into her wife’s hold and focused on the warmth surrounding her.

“What caused it this time?” Shiemi asked and her words tickled the back of Izumo’s head.

She exhaled and wrapped her hand around Shiemi’s. “The blanket had me and the ceiling… It just… Brought me back.”

“The ceiling?”

Izumo resisted the urge to look up at the white ceiling and focused on the numerous vines instead. “Yeah.” Shiemi kissed her head and held her until she fell asleep. The nightmares stayed away this time. 

By the next evening Shiemi had decorated their bedroom ceiling with dozens and dozens of glow in the dark stars. Izumo didn’t comment on it because she didn’t have to. She simply curled up with her wife and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Shiemi already knew anyway. 


End file.
